Treadle assembly having spring leafs for an exercise apparatus

ABSTRACT

A treadle assembly having spring leafs for an exercise apparatus comprising a treadle and two metal spring leaves fitted to a treadle-connecting rod of an exercise apparatus. The treadle-connecting rod is provided with a recessed portion in which a pair of shaft tubes are fixed to the center of the recessed portion. The shaft tubes are fitted at both sides with a roller holder, respectively. Two rollers are longitudinally and rotatably connected to the roller holder. The treadle includes a pair of connecting ears near the shaft tubes such that the treadle and the treadle-connecting rod can be movably connected by a pivot, and one end of the metal spring leaves is secured to a fixing base within the connecting ears while the other (free) end thereof is inserted between two rollers such that the metal spring leaves are movable between two rollers when the treadle is subject to an external force.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Fields of the Invention

The invention relates to a treadle assembly having spring leafs for anexercise apparatus, and more particularly, to a structure that employsmetal spring leaves having a stronger resilience to achieve an optimalshock-absorbing and elastic feedback effects, thereby effectivelyreducing the exercise load.

2. Description of the Related Art

U.S. Pat. No. 7,300,387 teaches a “TREADLE ASSEMBLY OF AN EXERCISEEQUIPMENT” in which an elastic restoring body made by rubber filler isprovided against the torsion on the treadle. In this way, a cushioningand restoring effect is achieved when a torsion acts on the treadle.

However, a long-term service life of the rubber product is not ensured.The rubber product tends to be changed in quality due to the heatproduced in the case especially when the repeated torsion force isapplied to the rubber product. As a result, the performance is rapidlydeteriorated. Moreover, the elastic performance with respect to theloadable torsion force varies with different loads by weight of theoperators, thereby resulting in a mixed damping effect evaluation madeby the different operators. This is required to be improved.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the invention is to provide a treadle assembly havingspring leafs for an exercise apparatus that employs metal spring leaves(which is strongly bendable) to enhance the load ability and to ensurethe optimal shock-absorbing effect. Moreover, the energy-accumulatingmetal characteristic is used to provide a reactive force to both feet ofthe operator, thereby reducing the exercise load and improving theexercise comfort.

According to the invention, a treadle-connecting rod of the exerciseapparatus is provided with a recessed portion in which a pair of shafttubes are fixed to the center of the recessed portion. The shaft tubesare fitted at both sides with a roller holder, respectively. Two rollersare longitudinally and rotatably connected to the roller holder. Thetreadle includes a pair of connecting ears near the shaft tubes suchthat the treadle and the treadle-connecting rod can be movably connectedby a pivot, and one end of the metal spring leaves is secured to afixing base within the connecting ears while the other (free) endthereof is inserted between two rollers such that the metal springleaves are movable between two rollers when the treadle is subject to anexternal force.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accomplishment of this and other objects of the invention willbecome apparent from the following description and its accompanyingdrawings of which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the embodiment of the invention according toFIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side view of the embodiment of the invention according toFIG. 2 after being subject to an external force;

FIG. 4 is a side view of the embodiment of the invention applied to anelliptical cross trainer; and

FIG. 5 is a side view of the embodiment of the invention applied to anfitness bike.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The present invention will now be described in more detail hereinafterwith reference to the accompanying drawings that show variousembodiments of the invention.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a treadle assembly having spring leafs foran exercise apparatus in accordance with a preferred embodiment of theinvention consists of a treadle 10 and two metal spring leaves 20. Thetreadle assembly is secured to a treadle-connecting rod 30 of anexercise apparatus (not shown). The treadle-connecting rod 30 isprovided with a recessed portion 31 in which a pair of shaft tubes 32are fixed to the center of the recessed portion 31. The shaft tubes 32are fitted at both sides with a roller holder 33, respectively. Tworollers 34 are longitudinally and rotatably connected to the rollerholder 33. The treadle 10 includes a pair of connecting ears 11 near theshaft tubes 32 such that the treadle 10 and the treadle-connecting rod30 can be movably connected by a pivot 12. One end of the metal springleaves 20 is secured to a fixing base 13 within the connecting ears 11while the other (free) end thereof is inserted between two rollers 34.In this way, the metal spring leaves 20 are movable between two rollerswhen the treadle 10 is subject to an external force.

As shown in FIG. 3, both metal spring leaves 20 are moved in a twistedposition when the treadle 10 is subject to an external force. Since thefree end of the metal spring leaves 20 can be moved between the rollers34, the swivel motion of the treadle 10 won't be affected. In removal ofthe external force, the treadle 10 is able to be returned in itsoriginal position.

Moreover, the number of the metal spring leaves 20 can be determined inaccordance with the preset load and the desirable feedback strength.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the treadle assembly in accordance with theinvention is applied to an elliptical cross trainer 40 and a fitnessbike 50. It is only required to install the treadle-connecting rod 30onto the elliptical cross trainer 40 and the fitness bike 50 to achievethe smooth operation and the desired effect of the invention.

The elliptical cross trainer 40 and the fitness bike 50 are conventionalexercise apparatuses. The connection and the operation of thetransmission components belong to the prior art so that no moredescriptions thereto are given hereinafter.

Many changes and modifications in the above-described embodiments of theinvention can, of course, be carried out without departing from thescope thereof. Accordingly, to promote the progress in science and theuseful arts, the invention is disclosed and is intended to be limitedonly by the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A treadle assembly having spring leafs for anexercise apparatus comprising a treadle and two metal spring leavesfitted to a treadle-connecting rod of an exercise apparatus, wherein thetreadle-connecting rod is provided with a recessed portion in which apair of shaft tubes are fixed to the center of the recessed portion, andthe shaft tubes are fitted at both sides with a roller holder,respectively, and two rollers are longitudinally and rotatably connectedto the roller holder; and wherein the treadle includes a pair ofconnecting ears near the shaft tubes such that the treadle and thetreadle-connecting rod can be movably connected by a pivot, and one endof the metal spring leaves is secured to a fixing base within theconnecting ears while the other (free) end thereof is inserted betweentwo rollers such that the metal spring leaves are movable between tworollers when the treadle is subject to an external force.
 2. The treadleassembly having spring leafs for an exercise apparatus as recited inclaim 1, wherein the number of the metal spring leaves is dependent onthe preset load and the desirable feedback strength.